Changing
g perceptions
s and
connecting
g with
h customers
att Sherman
n Farm
~ Page 2
For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes
what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness
and praise to spring up before all the nations. ~ Isaiah 61:11

Page 2 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Changing perceptions
and connecting with
customers at Sherman Farm
by Sally Colby
Shortly after Al and Phyllis Sherman
started their dairy farm in East Conway,
NH, farm in the mid-1960s, they realized that diversity was the key to growing their operation. They added fruits
and vegetables in the ’70s and ’80s, and
continually sought to produce what customers wanted. Today, daughter Kathy
Sherman heads up the family team continuing that legacy; providing a variety
of farm-fresh products for customers.
Each year, Sherman Farm produces
about 40 finished beef animals that
are marketed at the family’s own farm
stand. “We try to buy as locally as we
can,” said Sherman, describing the
young Angus and Angus cross calves
they raise. “They’re usually from Maine
or New Hampshire. We grow them to
about 1,300 to 1,500 pounds.” Beef
animals are raised in a spacious
freestall barn and receive corn silage,
grass haylage and supplemental grain.
When customers ask the inevitable
question — whether or not the animals

are grass fed — Sherman explains the
animals’ diet: feeds that are grown on
the farm. “That seems to satisfy people,” she said. “Some people are
adamant that the animals have to be
out on pasture walking around, but we
explain that the animals get feeds that
are raised here and that the animals
are raised in a respectful manner.”
Because the region lacks a smallscale butcher, Sherman takes animals
to a USDA-inspected facility in
Windham, ME, for slaughter, dry-aging
and packaging. “We sell strictly retail
at the farm stand,” she said. “We’ve
been selling 25-and 50-pound meat
packages, and last year, for the first
time, we sold sides.” Customers can
pre-order Christmas roasts, which are
usually specialty high-end items such
as tenderloin and rib roasts.
In addition to cattle, Sherman Farm
also raises pigs. Young pigs are purchased from local farms twice a year in
groups of 10 to 15 at a time, for a total
of about 40 each year.

In keeping with its goal of providing what customers want, Sherman Farm offers
hand-made wreaths and locally-grown Christmas trees.

Hurricane Irene caused significant damage to vegetable crops and hoop houses at
Sherman Farm, but the animals and main buildings were unharmed.
Photos courtesy of Sherman Farm
Milk and milk products sold at the
farm store are from Sherman Farm
cows, which are owned by the Hussey
family, who purchased the cattle and
rent the barn, storage facilities and
excess land. “The cows are here, but
the Husseys do all of the work,” said
Sherman. “They’re milking about 100
to 110 cows.” The milk is processed at
Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook, ME,
and sold at the Sherman Farm store.
About 60 acres of the farm is devoted
to growing a variety of fresh fruits and
vegetables, all of which are sold directly from the farm. “We try to keep up
with trends and grow what people
want,” said Sherman. “Once in a while
we’ll try something that just doesn’t
work out, but if it’s something we can
grow and it works with the rest of our
system, we try it.”
Crops such as tomatoes are started
in hoop houses in late February and
moved to a greenhouse in March.
Sherman says that they grow about
400 of just one tomato variety —
Ultrasweet — because that’s what customers ask for. Although the average
harvest is about 20,00 pounds of tomatoes, this year was different due to
flooding from Hurricane Irene. “We had
a flash flood that came through in less
than eight hours,” said Sherman.

“Normally we would see flooding 12
hours after the town of Conway (10
miles away) floods, but there was no
warning whatsoever. We lost nearly all
the produce. The only thing we were
able to sell after the flooding was sweet
corn that was above the water line.
Pumpkins, winter squash and some
thick-skinned root crops were ok.”
Although the hoop houses were under
water, the family was especially grateful that the corn maze, as well as their
animals and buildings, were not damaged. Sherman Farm is finishing up
the season by offering hand-made
wreaths and Christmas trees grown on
a nearby farm.
Sherman realizes that many consumers are getting information from
extreme media sources, and has found
it’s worth the time spent educating
people about how animals are raised.
“Once we tell them that there’s a
happy medium and that the animals
are content in a freestall barn with
access to feed and water and can walk
around, they respect that,” she said.
“We invite anyone to go out and see
where the animals are living, and most
people are happy with that. Consumers
are always curious about where their
food comes from, and if you can honestly tell them, they’re good with that.”

Congressman works for Rhode Island priorities in new Farm Bill
by Sanne Kure-Jensen
The U.S. Congress is considering the 2012 Farm Bill,
which sets national farm and
food policy. To hear Rhode
Island farmers’ priorities and
concerns for the new Farm
Bill, Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)
hosted a Farmer Forum at the
Warwick Public Library on
Nov. 28. Langevin outlined
past agricultural initiatives he
has supported to strengthen
Rhode Island’s Farms and
Food System and heard from a
panel of 18 farmers and agricultural agency representatives. Afterwards a dozen of
the 60 audience members
shared their concerns and
suggestions on ways to benefit
the farming and nursery
industries, as well as the local
food system.
Tom Sandham of the RI

Agricultural Partnership and
Ken Ayars, chief of the
Division of Agriculture at the
Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management,
helped organize the event.
Moderating the discussion,
Ayers said “The public wants
to know where their food
comes from and works to support local farms.” Regarding
potential farm project subsidies,
Ayars
continued,
“Farmers are not looking for a
handout, just support for
what they do every day.”
Clarifications Recommended
Katherine Brown, executive
director
at
Southside
Community Land Trust and
Rhode Island Food Policy
Council member shared her
story of young, small, urban

The animals that are the source of the fiber, like this llama, were the stars of the
Fiber Festival of New England.
Photo by George Looby
long life continues to grow amid
increasing demand .
As one travels the region visiting
exhibits, shows and conferences
reporting on the entire spectrum of
agricultural activities the key words
regularly heard are locally grown,
green and organic. Certainly these
facets of the industry were all in evidence at the festival.
Attendance and participation at
exhibits such as this is a must for anyone who is engaged in any phase of
fiber production and also for the hobbyist or professional who is engaged in
any of the many crafts that produce
the products displayed. There were
ongoing demonstrations by the varied,

skilled craftspeople with spinning
wheels, rug hookers engaged in producing beautiful hooked rugs as well
as loom operators making blankets.
Much of the exhibit space was occupied by booths offering skeins of yarn
of the whole spectrum of colors for
sale. Other booths featured articles of
clothing including caps, mittens and
scarves many of which came directly
from animals raised on the farm the
entire operation conducted at one site.
The imagination and ingenuity of the
craftspeople was remarkable. There
were Christmas ornaments, brooches,
pins and pet toys all made from animal
fiber.
Not only were products made of fiber

on display but there were a variety of
other products available for sale
derived in whole or in part from the
animals on the farm. These included
soaps, balms and lotions, many of
organic origin, each touted to bring
health and beauty to the user. Edible
products were also offered for sale
which included sheep and goat
cheeses.
One of the problems that fiber producers have dealt with over the years
is getting their products processed in
order that the freshly shaved, cut,
plucked or combed raw product from
a particular animal can be turned into
a form that the craftsperson can use
in making it into a finished product.
During the height of the textile industry in New England plants devoted to
this sort of activity were commonplace
but with the decline of the industry
such enterprises faded from the
scene. Now it appears that there is a
modest resurgence of operations that
are filling that void. One such operation is the Still River Mill located in
Eastford, CT, owned and operated by
Greg Driscoll and Deirdre Bushnell.
They provide a full range of services to
accommodate the grower to insure
that the product returned meets the
needs of all of their customers. Others
also offer the same sort of services and
sheep and wool growers association
can provide the names of other
processors.
This show was one that everyone
could enjoy and learn much about
good basic craftsmanship emphasizing
that good locally produced goods will
beat mass produced items in terms of
quality, dependability and longevity.
The Fiber Festival of New England has
met a growing and vital need for those
engaged in fiber production at any
level.

State/national partnership key to new beef marketing program
State beef councils are joining with
the national Beef Checkoff Program in
support of a new retail beef marketing
program that has the potential to significantly increase U.S. beef sales. The
checkoff-funded program, called Beef
Alternative Marketing (BAM), has identified innovative cutting techniques
and marketing strategies for securing
beef purchases from shoppers who previously looked elsewhere for nutritious,
high-quality, size-appropriate proteins.
BAM creates smaller filets and roasts
out of beef ribeyes, top loins and top
sirloins. These new cuts are thicker
than many being sold by retailers,
which have been sliced thinner
because of larger beef carcass sizes and
a retail desire to control package
weights. By increasing cut thickness,
final product quality is protected. At
the same time, smaller portions give
consumers the sizes and nutritional
profiles they seek.
Many retailers are embracing the
program because it capitalizes on the
popularity and profitability of middle
meats. BAM includes a complete cutting and marketing program, including
retailer training materials, point-of-sale
materials, recipes, cooking instructions, charts, photos and instructional
cutting posters.
According to Jim Henger, executive
director of channel marketing for the
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

(NCBA), a checkoff contractor, BAM is a
perfect product for the times because it
allows retailers to offer a product that
has a new nutritional selling point, is
sized to increase sales and retains the
cooking quality of larger steaks.
Furthermore, focus groups have shown
that consumers not only like the new
shapes and thicknesses of the cuts,
they are not concerned about higher
per-pound costs because there is a
lower price per package.
Also important for the beef industry
is that research shows new sales of
BAM cuts take nothing away from the
sales of larger beef items. That’s
because many consumers who might
have shied away from larger cuts, such
as women purchasing meat for themselves or their children, appreciate the
new sizes and nutritional profiles, and
recognized the usefulness of the cuts
for both weekdays and weekends.
State support
Because they are actively involved in
state-level beef demand-building programs, producers who sit on state beef
council boards see the value of this
program and have come out to assist in
its introduction. For example, the
South Dakota Beef Industry Council
(SDBIC) helped fund a nutrient analysis of BAM cuts that demonstrated that
seven of the eight BAM cuts meet government guidelines for lean, with less
fat and waste thanks to extra trim-

ming. Consumers, in turn, perceive a
greater value from the product’s leaner
fat profile.
The research will be used by USDA to
update its National Nutrient Database
for Standard Reference, which is the
gold standard of databases for nutrient
composition. The National Nutrient
Database for Standard Reference is
used by researchers and dietitians
around the world.
Involving state beef councils is a benefit for national programs, according to
David Dick, a beef producer from
Sedalia, MO, and chairman of the
Federation of State Beef Councils.
“Sometimes they know where to look
better than we do (at the national
level),” said Dick. “The local focus will
get you into those markets that you
don’t think about or can’t focus as
deeply on. With state dollars you can
be more pin-point.”
The flip side is also crucial. “We really need that expertise that comes in
from the national,” according to OBC’s
Heather Buckmaster. “They create the
program, then we are able to execute
them on a state level. So really having
that partnership is invaluable. We’re
not all re-creating the wheel. We’re all
spokes in that same wheel.”
“It’s
the
extension
of
that
state/national partnership,” said Dick.
“We all pay that dollar, and 50 cents
stays under the control of the state beef

council boards. But where the
Federation becomes important is where
you can do those things that a national program can’t. It’s that reach into
the local store, into the local mindset to
get that real connect with the consumer to find out why they buy your
product. The state program gives you
that connection.”
Value added program sets example
The highly successful Value Added
Cuts program for chuck cuts, which
introduced such cuts as the Flat Iron
Steak and the Denver Cut, increased
the value of each carcass by $50 - $70,
according to Cattle-Fax, and a Value
Added Cuts program for round cuts is
expected to add another $20 - $30.
Value Cuts helped set the stage for
BAM by showing retailers how changes
in beef marketing supported by the
Beef Checkoff Program could benefit
their operations. BAM takes change
one step further, helping show retailers
how to enhance beef sales and customer loyalty by modifying cutting and
marketing within the stores.
Retailers are always looking for additional sales opportunities, so the BAM
program caught their attention, even
though “change is not something that’s
readily accepted in channel marketing,” said Henger. Part of the acceptance, Henger says, is the beef checkoff’s track record for successfully moving the industry forward.

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 3

by Dr. George Looby, DVM
The Mallary Complex located on the
grounds of the Eastern States
Exposition in West Springfield, MA,
continued it’s busy fall season the
weekend of Nov. 5 and 6 presenting
the second annual Fiber Festival of
New England. The week before southern New England was hit by a classic
nor’easter, the sort natives anticipate
in the dead of winter, but not before
Halloween. Power outages were widespread and prolonged causing major
disruptions to activities of all sorts
throughout the region but this show
went on, bringing a welcomed diversion to the general misery that gripped
the region especially in Connecticut
and Massachusetts.
Again this year the Eastern States
Exposition and the New England
Sheep and Wool Growers Association
teamed up to produce the show that
was educational, entertaining and
diverse. If there is any animal that produces fur, hair, fleece or coat that can
be processed and crafted to make a
covering or garment for its human
keepers it was represented at this
exhibit. Although much of the emphasis of the exhibits on the floor of the
exhibition hall was devoted to spinning
and weaving it was the animal that
was the source of the raw material that
was the foundation for the entire
show. Everything used in the production of the finished product had an
animal origin be it a sheep, goat,
llama, alpaca or rabbit. In this era of
increasing diversification on farms in
the Northeast the production of fiber
makes for a perfect fit for those who
are making an effort to find that special niche market. The enthusiasm
and dedication of this group is especially gratifying to observe as the markets for products with high quality and

Page 4 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Aldermere Achievers shine at national Belted Galloway show
Anticipation, anxiety,
excitement, then pride,
may well best describe
the series of emotions
Maine Coast Heritage
Trust’s
Aldermere
Achievers 4-H Club
members experienced
on Nov. 15 during the
National
Belted
Galloway
Society's
National Youth Show.
They also described the
feelings of staff and parents in attendance.
The National Belted
Galloway
Society’s
National Youth Show
was one of many competitions presented in
Louisville, KY, at this
year’s North American
International Livestock
Exposition (NAILE), the
world's
largest
allbreed, purebred livestock
exposition.
Attending and competing at the National Show
had been a goal of the
Aldermere Achievers 4H club throughout the
year, a beef club associated with Aldermere
Farm
in
Rockport,

Aldermere Achievers 4-H Club members (L-R) Alice Flint, Frances Pendleton, Lucy
Heal, Ellie Pendleton, Samantha Leighton, Tyler Leighton, Erin Rollins, and Addie
Bragg.
Maine. Through persistent fundraising initiatives, generous community involvement, and
supportive families, the
first part of the dream
was realized in midNovember,
as
eight
Aldermere Achievers 4H Club members and 10
head of cattle arrived in
the Blue Grass State. By
mid-week of the Show,
the group of young

farmers had risen to the
occasion to not only
proudly
represent
MCHT Aldermere Farm
Preserve, but to take
home numerous awards
as well.
The day of the competition began early and
required a lot of preparation. After breakfast,
the crew headed over to
the Expo site for feeding, shampooing, dry-

ing, clipping, accentuating positive traits, and
hiding negative ones of
their Belties — all critical components to an
award-winning presentation.
The
competition,
when it began, was
divided into two categories:
showmanship

and
breed
classes.
Through showmanship,
the judge determined
how well the young
trainers had worked
with their animal’s hair,
how well they lead
them, and how knowledgeable
they
were
about
their
breed.
Through the breed class
evaluations, the competition involved judging
animals of similar age
followed by a Grand
Champion among all the
age group winners.
There are two key
awards in the competition and Aldermere
Achievers received both:
Erin Rollins won for
National
Grand
Champion Steer and
Addie Bragg took home
the National Grand
Champion
Heifer.
Following them was
Frances Pendleton. She
won National Reserve
Grand Champion with
her heifer. In total, three

of the top four awards
were
achieved
by
Aldermere Achievers.
Fellow Achievers Tyler
Leighton, Sam Leighton,
Ellie Pendleton, Lucy
Heal and Alice Flint all
finished strong by using
the best showmanship
skills of their lives at
this National Show.
With hundreds of eyes
on them, each Achiever
prepared their animal
and presented it to the
judge with calmness
and focus while exhibiting the greatest respect
for their fellow competitors from around the
United States.
4-H member Frances
Pendelton commented
that “fundraising this
year has been difficult,
but well worth it.
Thanks to the help of
friends, family, and
the community the trip
to Louisville, Kentucky
is one that I will not
forget.”

Cover photo courtesy of Sherman Farm
The dairy herd at Sherman Farm is owned by the Hussey
family and produces milk that is sold at the farm stand.

MN), with support from co-sponsor
Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID).
Mooney thanked both congressmen
for their hard work on the bill and
urged all producers to rally behind it.
Although dairy reform was the
most visible initiative in 2011, NMPF
was busy throughout the year working on other priority issues, which
Mooney and Kozak also discussed in
their presentation.
The organization worked on several regulatory efforts in 2011, including advocating for a reduction in
somatic cell count levels to 400,000
and grappling with the Food and
Drug
Administration
on
drug
residue violations in dairy animals.
A significant regulatory victory came
from the Environmental Protection
Agency’s final exemption of milk
storage from its Spill, Prevention,
Control and Countermeasure regulation.
“Reforming immigration policies to
address the labor needs of farmers
remains a paramount concern for
NMPF,” Mooney continued. Although
there had not been any significant
progress made on immigration in
2011, the issue was getting the
attention of Congress through a
Senate hearing, the H-2A visa pro-

gram, and E-Verify.
Mooney and Kozak noted various
successes on Capitol Hill, such as
minimizing the impact of the estate
tax, overturning the proposed tax
reporting requirement known as the
IRS form 1099, passing three Free
Trade Agreements with Colombia,
Panama and South Korea, and
resolving the trucking dispute that
was negatively impacting U.S. cheese
exports to Mexico.
NMPF also was pleased to see the
final implementation of the promotion checkoff on imported dairy
products. “Ultimately, the outcome
of this issue is not about equity, but
justice for America’s farmers,” Kozak
explained.
Annual Meeting attendees learned
that Cooperatives Working Together
will continue in 2012 and 2013 after
the program reached its 70 percent
membership goal this year.
The joint presentation concluded
with Mooney and Kozak affirming
that NMPF will continue to work on
the issues important to its membership. “We won’t settle for mediocrity…We will never settle on anything
less than what our members expect,”
they said.

Continued from A2

and suburban farmers starting successful farms selling through CSAs,
farmers markets and cooperatives.
Viable operations are working properties as small as 2 acres or less. Brown
urged
the
USDA
and
Rural
Development to revise their minimum
acreage requirements defining a farm.
Brown also recommended continued
support for the UDSA’s Community
Food Project grant program.
Several people brought up a loophole
in land conservation regulations
whereby turf farms and nurseries raising ball-and-burlap plants are not eligible for federal conservation grants.
Many land trust and state conservation easement efforts rely on federal
grants to help preserve farmland. The
speakers said it is important to keep
these farms viable through reduced
property tax assessments, which
reflect the true costs of town services.
Conservation easements also help
farmers and heirs by reducing inheritance tax property values.
Dick Went, Rhode Island Association
of
Conservation
Districts,
said
“Farmers (farm) because they love it,
not to make a lot of money.” He proposed that USDA and Natural
Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
grant allocations to Rhode Island have
fewer restrictions and national definitions attached. Since the state’s farms
are different, selections and payouts
should be allowed to better fit local
farmers’ needs.
Kyle Stewart of Stewart Nurseries
noted that 55 to 60 percent of agricultural sales in Rhode Island were from
greenhouse and nursery operations.
That prime land should be used for
agriculture rather than growing houses. Went and Ayers also urged changing grant eligibility rules to include
turf and nursery operations.
Resource Conservation
Pat McNiff of Pat’s Pastured at

Boesch Farm stressed the importance
of the fencing subsidies that have
helped farmers keep their animals in
and keep deer and predators out as
well as protect sensitive wetland areas.
“We are a suburban state and we need
this crucial program restored.”
Estate Taxation
Al Bettencourt of the RI Farm
Bureau noted that assessing farms at
their highest and best use put many
farms at risk during generational transitions. He urged assessments as
farms not house lots and recommended higher exemptions when the estate
tax laws are renewed in 2013.
Stephen Anderson of Maplewood
Farms shared this concern. “If tragedy
strikes and the tax man comes saying
I owe x dollars, I see a For Sale sign.”
Small Business Burdens
Sandie Barden of Barden Orchards
spoke of the challenges her farm faced
trying to sell apples to local schools.
The high cost of Rhode Island real
estate means that her apples cost $16
per box. Government purchasing programs begun as a collection tool for
surplus farm produce now subsidize
large farmers (who can meet the large
contract quantities) allowing their
apples to sell for as little as $8 per box.
McNiff’s
comments
paralleled
Barden’s regarding new Food Safety
Regulations; the new standards are set
up for big business and place a disproportionate burden on small family
farms in terms of cost, equipment and
time. “Let’s make the regulations proportional to the risks.”
Jim Hines of Rhody Fresh milk
explained that a Federal Marketing
Order sets the wholesale price dairy
farmers receive for their milk. Since
Jan 2000, changes in that order
resulted in wild swings in farm prices.
In 2009, the average dairy farmer in
the U.S. lost $100 per cow per month.
Langevin supported the Milk Income

Stephen Anderson of Maplewood Farms expresses his concen over inheritance
taxes and the high cost of land in Rhode Island threatening his ability to continue
farming.
Loss Contract (MILC) program which
helps reduce the burden of low prices
on small dairy farms.
Product Labeling
Max Hence of Hillandale Farm
Organics agreed with the need to
match regulations to risk and urged
Congress to allow consumers to make
informed choices by requiring labeling
of genetically modified foods as
Europeans do. Hence praised the
nation’s effective organic certification
process to ensure sustainable farming
well into the future.
Langevin’s Take
In fighting for the Ocean State’s priorities, Langevin emphasized that
unlike other farming regions in the
country, Rhode Island produces few
commodities like cotton, corn and
wheat. Rhode Island’s small, family
farms mainly produce specialty crops
including fruits and vegetables for New

England markets.
“Our farms contribute a great deal to
the local economy and provide Rhode
Islanders with healthier and fresher
food
options,”
said
Langevin.
“However, they have historically been
disadvantaged by federal policies that
concentrate on bigger farms that
receive more help than they need. We
made great strides in the last Farm Bill
to address this inequity, but we have
an opportunity this coming year to do
much more and I want to ensure our
farmers’ voices are heard.”
“I am pleased to see an increase in
the number of farms in Rhode Island
and their success is integral to revitalizing our economy,” said Langevin.
“Particularly in a time of great fiscal
constraints, we must have more efficient policies to most effectively provide safe and healthy food in our state
and throughout the nation.”

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 5

The leaders of the National Milk with a better, more innovative way of
Producers Federation (NMPF) stood preventing an economic crisis down
before their members during NMPF’s on the farm,” Mooney stated.
2011 Annual Meeting as they report- “Ultimately, success in dairy policy
ed on the organization’s progress reform is working together to get
something better than before.”
during the past year.
The initial FFTF provisions were
NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney,
along with President & CEO Jerry refined after NMPF staff went on the
road during the
Kozak, started
summer
of
the joint pres2011 and preentation
by
“Success is coming up with a sented the prodiscussing
to dairy
NMPF’s most
better, more innovative way of posal
farmers in 12
prominent initiative
to preventing an economic crisis cities and 11
states across
reform
U.S.
down on the farm.”
the
country.
dairy
policy
K o z a k
t h r o u g h
~ Randy Mooney explained that
Foundation for
Chairman NMPF although the
the
Future
primary
pur(FFTF), which
pose of the tour
this
fall
was to speak
evolved
into
the Dairy Security Act (DSA) of 2011 directly to farmers about the need
(HR 3062). FFTF began in June 2009 for dairy reform, it also allowed
with the creation of a Strategic Task NMPF staff to listen to farmers’ perForce instructed to come up with a spectives. “This gave us an unfiltered
insight into the producer communibetter safety net for dairy farmers.
Mooney and Kozak stressed that ty’s view of FFTF,” Kozak said.
although NMPF has come a long way
The changes that resulted from the
toward achieving its goal of better summer tour were incorporated into
dairy policy, there is still more work the DSA under the leadership of
to be done. “Success is coming up Congressman Collin Peterson (D-

Crop Comments
by Paris Reidhead
Field Crops Consultant

Page 6 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

(Contact: renrock46@hotmail.com)

Genes without borders
On Dec. 2 I received an
e-mail from the most
northern of my two
Madison County Internet
spies. The spy forwarded
to me a news release
sent to him by Ann
Clark, an agronomy professor emeritus from
Guelph University in Ontario, Canada. The article was titled “GMO
Canola Everywhere”. Either my spy or the professor preceded the title
with
the
comment
(which I take to be sarcastic): “Now here’s a
surprise: GM canola is
becoming common on
the Canadian prairies,
and swapping manmade genes in the wild.”
I remember, back dur-

ing
my
childhood,
watching a grade B western movie on TV. In it the
posse was chasing bad
guys, everyone, of course
on horseback. The bandidos rode into and
through the shallow Rio
Grande
River.
One
deputy yelled, “Sheriff,
we can’t follow them into
Mexico.” The sheriff
replied, “We can’t, but
our bullets can.” Normally borders are pretty
sacred lines on a map. I
also remember, when I
was stationed in Texas
and trying to learn to fly
in the U.S. Air Force,
that I nearly flew into
Mexican air space. My
instructor pilot made
sure that didn’t happen.
Borders are less than
sacred with medical hu-

manitarian
missions.
Most of us have heard
about Doctors without
Borders. I had the privilege of meeting one such
doctor when I was first
hospitalized some 15
months ago. This lady
physician had seen on
my medical records that
I was born in the Sudan.
She said that she had
served there during the
1980s as a Doctor without Borders. I asked her
about her experience.
She enjoyed the six
months or so she served
there. I asked if she
would like to go back
there. She said she was
too old… that was 25
years ago. She appeared
to be about my age.
Speaking of doctors, I
have always been impressed by the Hippocratic Oath they swear
to. It’s an oath historically taken by physicians
and other healthcare
professionals swearing
to practice medicine ethically. It is widely believed to have been writ-

ten by Hippocrates, often
regarded as the father of
western medicine. The
most commonly quoted
high spot of that oath
reads, “I will prescribe
regimens for the good of
my patients according to
my ability and my judgment and never do harm
to anyone.”
When it comes to borders, be it someone else’s
fields, or even another
country, some pollens,
particularly those transported by honeybees, are
no more confined than
the grade B movie sheriff’s bullets. Forgive my
round-about introduction as I attempt to hit
the high spots of Professor Clark’s e-mail, which
technically was also fired
across a border. High
spots coming up.
Genetically modified
canola has escaped from
the farm and is thriving
in the wild across North
Dakota. Studies indicate
there are plenty of novel
man-made genes crossing the Canada-U.S. bor-

der. GM canola was
found growing everywhere from ditches to
parking lots, scientists
reported, with some of
the highest densities
along a trucking route
into Canada. “That’s
where the most intense
canola production is and
it’s also the road that
goes to the canola processing plants across the
border,” said ecologist
Cynthia Sagers of the
University of Arkansas.
Her study stopped at the
border, but Canadian research has also found
“escaped” GM canola is
becoming common on
the Canadian prairies,
and swapping manmade genes in the wild.
For the study, Sagers
and her colleagues drove
across North Dakota and
stopped every 8 kilometers (5 miles south of the
border) to see what was
growing. At almost half
of the 634 stops they
found genetically modified canola, with thousands of GM plants

growing at some locations. “That was a shock
to us,” Sagers said. “In
some places along the
road where department
of transportation had
sprayed for weeds, the
canola was blooming
brilliantly”. At other
spots GM canola was the
only thing growing. Of
288 canola plants the researchers tested, 231
were genetically modified. Perhaps most significant was the fact that
two of the plants had
combinations of herbicide resistance that had
not been developed commercially. “That suggests
to us there is breeding
going on, either in the
field or in these roadside
populations, to create
new combinations of
traits,” said Sagers. “In
terms of evolutionary biology it’s pretty amazing.” She says the findings raise questions
about whether the escaped or “feral” GM

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edge was, granted, anecdotal, but Canadian
canola farmers were observing that mustardlike weeds had developed glyphosate tolerance, not a real surprise
because Canola and
mustard both belong to
the Brassica genus.

Maybe the research scientists should officially
name this hybrid mustola. Sagers and her colleagues raise questions
about whether “adequate oversight and
monitoring protocols”
are in place to track the
environmental impact of

biotech products. “It is
conceivably a very large
problem,” she said. Crop
and forage species now
cover more than a quarter of the earth’s land
surface and “yet we
know relatively little
about how domesticated
plants influence wild
ones,” said Sagers.
When contacted regarding these runaway
(or fly-away) genes, the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said
that it is satisfied that
the GM crops escaping
farms pose no risk. “GM
crops have been safely
grown in Canada for the
past 20 years.” CFIA’s

media office said assessments, done by CFIA before the GM crops were
approved for use, “concluded that herbicidetolerant canola varieties
authorized for cultivation in Canada are neither more invasive nor
more persistent than unmodified
commercial
counterparts.” To that
either my spy, or the
professor, asked if CFIA
was missing the point
(deliberately?), as usual.
When CFIA said that
GM
crops
escaping
farms pose no risk, the
very real threat of these
man-made genes to the
genetic purity of non-

GMO crops can sensibly
be considered a type of
harm, both economically
and environmentally. Let
me refer back to the ancient oath taken by medical professionals. It has
been suggested that a
similar oath should be
undertaken by scientists, a Hippocratic Oath
for Scientists. There is
general
sentiment
among sustainable farming advocates that when
it comes to the part “never do harm to anyone”,
many plant genetic engineering scientists would
solemnly swear with fingers crossed behind
their backs.

Crop from 6
canola might pass on
man-made genes to wild
species like field mustard, which is an agricultural pest.
What I myself learned
about canola and mustard cross-breeding I
stumbled into in the late
1990s. This new knowl-

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Deworming: the most important management
tool for beef producers
by Sally Colby
Dr. Gary Sides doesn’t
mince words: deworming
is a critical aspect of
overall beef cattle care.
“When we control parasites, cattle are healthier,” said Sides, a nutritionist at Pfizer Animal
Health. “Of all the technology we use from birth
to slaughter, nothing is
as good as killing parasites when we look at

overall
performance.
Parasites suppress feed
intake, and they also
suppress utilization of
feed. Cattle that are parasitized have a depressed immune system
— they can’t respond to
vaccines, they can’t respond to disease challenges.” A parasitized
pregnant cow that is trying to maintain weight
through a rough winter

has a limited immune response, poor feed utilization and her growing calf
will likely suffer as well.
Sides says that when it
comes to deworming cattle, it’s helpful to understand the life cycle of the
parasite. “The most important thing to remember is that parasites
have to go through the
cattle’s system to complete their life cycle,” he

Page 8 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Deadline extended —
producers reminded to participate
in cattle survey
Please help us assure
that we continue to get
widespread
response
from cattle producers
across the United States
to provide a strong production sector voice in
the results and strategy
of the checkoff-funded
National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA). To assure full
opportunity for producers to participate the survey will remain open until
Feb. 6, 2012. The survey
can be taken online at
www.cattlesurvey.com
and requires less than 10
minutes to complete.
The checkoff needs

producer input for the
following reasons:
1. The results of the
survey will help drive the
recommendation
from
the National Beef Quality
Audit and assure that the
strategies are developed
based on a strong grassroots message.
2. Results of the NBQA
will be used to enhance
the beef industry’s message to supply chain
partners, opinion influencers,
and
consumers. The survey
provides an avenue for
U.S. cattle producers to
tell their collective story

about on-ranch commitment to quality.
3. NBQA results will be
used to demonstrate value to international customers.
Historically, the NBQA
has yielded significant
value to our industry by
driving continuous improvement
initiatives,
providing strategic focus,
and demonstrating opportunities for increased
demand
and
profitability.
For more information
about your beef checkoff
investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

said. “There’s an adult
worm living in the gut of
the cow. Those adults
shed eggs, the eggs go
out in the feces. Multiple
eggs are shed per adult
worm. Adult worms are
the only ones that shed
eggs — juveniles developing inside the animal
do not shed eggs. The infective larvae crawl in a
blade of grass, are consumed by cattle, go
through several larval
stages
and
become
adults that shed eggs
and start the cycle
again.” It’s important to
remember that parasite
larvae can overwinter in
an inhibited stage within
the gut and emerge in
spring. They can also
overwinter by burrowing
into the ground for hibernation and reemerge
to infect cattle.
Doing fecal egg counts
(FEC) to monitor parasite burdens or identify
parasites is not a reliable
tool. “If I take a sample
from an animal that has

ever been on grass, I can
find fecal parasite eggs,”
said Sides. “I can’t tell
what’s what by microscopic exam.” Sides
added that only parasitologists who hatch out
parasite eggs can accurately identify them.
FECs are also inaccurate
for some parasite species
due to those species’
ability to inhibit growth
of some larval stages or
encyst in the gut. Parasites in these stages can
still cause significant gut
damage. In the case of
Ostertagia ostertagi, or
brown stomach worms, a
fecal sample might not
show the true population
of the L4 stage. “This
state of this parasite
doesn’t shed eggs,” said
Sides. “We have to be
very careful about evaluating fecal samples because they don’t always
show a true picture of
the level parasitism.”
Sides cited a study in
which animals were
slaughtered and gut par-

BEEF
asites were counted. In
an animal that had
52,000 Ostertagia ostertagi in the gut, the
majority were L4 larvae
adult-shed eggs. Sides
says that treatment with
injectable Ivomec (ivermectin) will kill 98 to 99
percent of the parasites,
but a drench such as
Valbazen (which is labeled for ostertagia), only
kills about 75 percent.
“The strength of the injectable ivermectin is
that it kills both adults
and inhibited larval
stage,” he said.
Timing is everything in
deworming strategy. “If I
treat too early,” said
Sides, “the drug isn’t in
heavy enough concentration in the animal to
be effective against parasites that have overwintered. Time treatments
to correspond with green
grass growth to get the
most use of the products.” Sides advises de-

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Deworming 9

Taiwan beef promotions bring results
While the marketing
environment for beef
products in Taiwan has
been more challenging
this year since the government there began
testing for growth promotant residues, the beef
checkoff, through its contractor the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)
Taiwan has continued to
work to regain the confidence of retailers and
consumers. Recent promotions with hypermarket chain RT-Mart and

supermarket chain Taiwan Fresh show those efforts are paying off. A
top-three chain in Taiwan, RT-Mart with its 26
outlets has been a longterm partner with the
beef checkoff, so it recently agreed to a twoweek joint promotion on
U.S. beef.
Under the theme of “U.S.
Beef Festival,” the promotion featured boneless
short ribs, top blade muscle, chuck short ribs and
short plate. As an incentive

ing manager.
The checkoff coordinated a second promotion
with a longtime U.S. beef
merchant, Taiwan Fresh,
which has 40 supermarket outlets in central Taiwan. A loyal partner that
has continued to stock
U.S. beef despite some
negative consumer reactions, Taiwan Fresh conducted its own monthlong promotion, featuring
chuck flap, top blade
muscle, chuck tender,
chuck roll, bone-in and

boneless short ribs, rib
fingers, ribeye, pastrami,
heel muscle and eye of
round. While not all retailers share their postpromotion sales levels,
Taiwan Fresh disclosed
that its joint promotion is
generating lasting sales
benefits. Prior to the promotion, U.S. beef sales
levels for the period were
roughly 5,580 pounds.
During the promotion,
they more than doubled
to 11,440 pounds. In a
sign of growing consumer
confidence,
Taiwan’s
sales of U.S. beef only declined slightly in the following month, holding at
10,780 pounds.
During the promotion,
consumers were provided with information on
wet-aging techniques as
well as information on
how to prepare the variety of beef cuts.

BEEF
“Supporting retailers
strategically contributes
to maintaining the level
of chilled beef imports
among importers and allows for more frequent
purchases by retailers,”
says USMEF-Taiwan Director Davis Wu. “This
helps enhance buyer loyalty and helps us in the
long run.”
Through the first nine
months of 2011, U.S. beef
exports stand at 57.1 million pounds valued at
$142.4 million – decreases of 6 percent and 5 percent respectively when
compared to last year, but
showing signs of rebounding in September.
For more information
about your beef checkoff
investment in foreign
marketing
programs,
visitMyBeefCheckoff.com

The Maine Farm Bureau will conduct a workshop entitled How to Influence Legislation on
Wednesday, Dec. 14,
from 1-3:30 p.m.
The agenda includes:
• Welcome and Introduction — Jon Olson, executive secretary, Maine
Farm Bureau;
• How to Testify — Jon
Olson — Learn how to
give successful testimony
from a lobbyist’s perspective. Find out the power
of your own voice in advocating for issues important to you.
• Legislative Insight —
Rep. Jeff Timberlake (RTurner), member of the
Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. Rep. Jim Dill (DOld Town), member of the
Agriculture, Conserva-

tion, and Forestry Committee.
Knowing how the legislative process works
will help you to be successful in getting your
point of view heard.
Learn how the legislative
process works and “do’s”
and “don’ts.”
Our panel will give you
very important insight
into a day in the life at
the Legislature, which is
beneficial to know when
trying to influence legislation. Learning how to
best communicate with
legislators in order to
help them understand
your concerns will help
them and you.
Reservations suggested. Call 800-639-2126 or
e-mail jjennings@mainefarmbureau.com
to
RSVP.

Deworming from 9
worming cows in fall so
they go through the winter clean and in spring
when grass starts to
grow to kill the parasites
that have overwintered
and re-emerged. “In a
true strategic deworming program, I deworm
in fall and in spring, and
use an injectable as often as I can,” he said.
“For cows, I would inject
in spring when I have
the highest parasite
cows, and use pour-on
in fall to get best of both,
and inject calves both
spring and fall.” In the
case of grubicides, it’s
important for beef producers to be aware of regional cut-off dates for

such products.
Sides says that so far,
cattle in the U.S. haven’t
had any major problems
with resistance, and
that the best way to
avoid resistance is to
use a full dose. He reminds producers to deworm animals at the appropriate time, and to
follow BQA procedures.
“Deworming is the
most valuable player of
any cattle technology,”
said Sides. “It’s more
valuable than implants,
ionophores, antibiotics.
It’s the most profitable
management we can
employ, whether we’re
talking about cow-calf
or feedlot.”

Progressive Agriculture
Safety Day® Program
reaches one millionth
participant
what we couldn’t do
alone at a local level.”
2011 marks Davidson’s
fifth Safety Day, which
started with 75 kids and
has now grown to over
200 at each event.
Today, Safety Days are
made possible by the Progressive
Agriculture
Foundation® (PAF), an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit with a board of directors from within the
agriculture industry and
an operating budget of
$2.6 million. The program’s curriculum has
grown from basic farm
safety to also include a focus on rural issues like
hunting, ATV usage and
even childhood obesity.
While the Foundation’s
leadership is proud to hit
the millionth participant
mark, they stress there is
still much to be done. PAF
hopes to reach its secondmillionth
participant
within the next 10 years.
“The number of children injured each year on
farms has declined 59
percent since 1998, but
there were still 15,012
farm injuries to children
reported in 2009,” says
Bob Marshall, of Bunge
North America and PAF
board president. “We view
even one injury as one
too many. The educational outreach of the Safety
Day program is one of the
efforts that has made this
decline possible. We plan
to work hard to do even
more in the coming 10
years with the generous
support of our many new
and long-term sponsors
who donate both financially and with employee

resources.”
In addition to loyal
sponsors, the program is
largely made possible by
a volunteer base that
contributes time and
skills to help run individual Safety Day events.
“We can’t thank our volunteers enough,” says
Susan Reynolds, executive director — programs
for PAF. “We would not be
able to reach as many
children as we do without
their gifts of time and resources.” In 2011 alone,
approximately
18,000
volunteers have helped
with PAF efforts. As many
as 230,000 volunteers
have helped throughout
the last 17 years.
The core mission of the
Safety Day program is
simple: to keep children
safe and healthy. By focusing on topics that are
relevant to children in
rural areas, the Safety
Day program has successfully reached over 1
million children and volunteers, and averages
400 Safety Day events a
year, all over North
America and the U.S.
territories.
Davidson continued, “I
can’t say enough good
things about PAF. This is
a program I truly believe
in. Reaching 1 million
participants is a milestone, and I look forward
to helping PAF continue
to reduce farm incidents
and death among children and in our communities.”
For more information
about PAF and to support the cause, go to
www.progressiveag.org.

Power take-off safety is important for
parents and children
Power take-off devices
(PTOs), though incredibly
useful on farms and
ranches, can be extremely dangerous to people,
rotating at 540 to 1,000
revolutions per minute
(RPM), or nine to 16 revolutions per second. These
energy-transferring machines that generally
work to move energy from
a tractor to a smaller device such as a grain
auger, hay baler or pump
can present extremely
hazardous situations to
humans, especially children.
One of the most common injuries that occurs
with PTOs is PTO entanglement. Due to the rapid
rotation, people often get
caught by the fast-moving PTO shaft and injured
before they have time to
react to the situation.
“The demonstrations
we often do during Safety
Days show what happens
to a straw-filled dummy

when it comes into contact with a rotating PTO
shaft. This is a great opportunity for kids to really see firsthand just what
these machines are capable of. If even one life is
saved from these dangerous devices, our work is
well worth it,” says
Bernard Geschke, program specialist with the
Progressive Agriculture
Foundation® (PAF), an
organization that helps
rural communities provide safety and health education to children ages 8
to 13.
As a parent, there are
several things you can
teach your child to reduce the likelihood of a
PTO-related injury or
death. Educate your children on the importance of
doing the following:
1. Always remove the
keys to the engine before
leaving the tractor seat to
make sure the PTO will
not accidently start run-

ning.
2. Make sure all equipment safety shields and
guards are in place and
properly working before
working near a PTO device.
3. Wear tight-fitting
clothes and keep hair out
of the way. A baggy sleeve
or hair can easily get
caught in a PTO device.
4. Never step over a
PTO device even when it
is shut off. Stepping or
reaching across a PTO
can lead to entanglement.
5. Children should stay
away from PTOs that are
operating, and children
under 18 should never
operate a PTO device.
Safety tips such as
these are examples of the
things children learn
when they attend Progressive Agriculture Safety Days®, which are held
each year in approximately 400 local communities throughout North
America.

* USED EQUIPMENT SPECIALS *
2011 is Almost Over - Don’t Wait For the Equipment You Need

Milestone reached in
farm safety and health
education effort
We all hear the horror
stories of losing a loved
one to a farm-related incident. The families left
behind ponder what
would have happened “if
only.” If only he had been
more careful, if only she
wasn’t in such a hurry, if
only we had known.
Moved by stories of
farming-related
tragedies, Jack Odle, editor of The Progressive
Farmer, launched an effort in 1995 to help prevent unintentional death
on the farm. This effort
evolved to become the
Progressive Agriculture
Safety Day® Program.
Now in its 17th year, the
effort has reached its
one-millionth participant
and is continuing the
mission of eliminating
farm injury and death by
providing education and
training to make farm,
ranch and rural life safer
and healthier for children and their communities through its Safety
Day program.
Penn State Extension
Children and Youth Development
educator
Jana Davidson hosted
the one-millionth Safety
Day participant on Sept.
14, in Clearfield, PA.
“Hosting this event is
probably my favorite day
of the year,” said Davidson. “(The kids) are getting so much education,
but they’re having so
much fun! The impact is
huge. From the staff to
the national sponsors,
they’re helping us do

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Anti-truck groups seek to dismantle
successful safety regulation
said. “Since these rules
went into effect, fatal
crashes involving large
trucks are down 32 percent, even as truck
miles traveled have increased. These rules are
working, so we have to
ask: what part of success
troubles
these
groups?
“It is apparent to us
that since these crusaders cannot win an
argument on the merits,
as shown in analysis after analysis of FMCSA’s
proposal, they now are
attempting to use our
country’s weak economy
as a wedge, arguing for
this rule simply because
it will reduce productivity and create driving
jobs,”
Graves
said.
“What this rule will do, if
enacted as proposed, is
force fleets to put even

more trucks on the
road, which elevates the
risk of a crash. ATA will
not support rules that
create more exposure to
crashes for professional
drivers or for the motoring public.”
ATA estimates that if
enacted, these new rules
will reduce productivity
by a minimum of 5 percent, which artificially
creates a need for at
least 115,000 additional

trucks to haul the nation’s freight. These
trucks will need to travel an estimated five billion miles to deliver their
goods and, given the
most recent crash rates,
could lead to an additional 52 fatal crashes,
and nearly 900 injury
crashes.
“By baselessly cutting
the productivity of the
industry, these alleged
champions of safety will,

by forcing thousands of
additional drivers and
vehicles onto the highway, make our roads
less safe,” Graves said.
“The highway is our
workplace, and we have
a vested interest in making it safer for everyone.
If compelling evidence
existed that the changes
these
groups
want
would increase safety,
we would embrace it.
However, the FMCSA it-

self said in its proposal
the safety benefits of
this rule do not outweigh the costs.
“Rules should be written based on sound data
and research, not the
theories of outside interest groups. We hope and
trust the factual record,
and not politics will
guide policymakers as
they complete their review of this rule,” Graves
said.

ATA asks OMB to consider if ‘legitimate’ reasons
exist for hours change
American
Trucking
Associations President
and CEO Bill Graves, in
a letter to Cass Sunstein, administrator of
the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs
at the Office of Management and Budget, questioned whether “legitimate reason” exists to
change
the
current
hours-of-service rules.
In the letter, dated
Nov. 15, Graves points
to recently unearthed
data about the trucking
industry’s safety performance, as well as the
underlying science used
by the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Adminis-

tration and Department
of Transportation to alter the 34-hour restart
provision of the rules.
“This data, in terms of
both
numbers
and
rates, is overwhelmingly
positive, is a clear indication how well trucking
is performing while operating under the current HOS rules, and further demonstrates FMCSA has no evidence of a
safety problem with the
current rules,” Graves
said of the recently discovered 2009 Large
Truck and Bus Crash
Facts, which showed
historic low levels of
truck crashes.

Graves asked OMB to
review the data “as you
decide whether FMCSA
and DOT have any legitimate reason to issue a
new rule with significant
public
policy
changes.”
The letter also draws
Sunstein’s attention to
the “findings” and “recommendations” used by
FMCSA and DOT to
craft their proposed
changes to the 34-hour
restart. Those findings
come from a single
study that the researchers themselves
said was not enough to
answer all the questions
surrounding the rule’s

effect on safety.
“An objective read
makes clear that this
single study is insufficient to justify a policy
change,” Graves said,
comparing the need for
more research to the
Obama administration’s
recent decision to delay
approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in
lieu of further study.
“Critical highway safety policy decisions by
our government deserve
no less scrutiny and understanding by government policymakers and
the public than environmental and energy decisions,” Graves said.

New FMCSA report shows continued,
marked improvements in trucking safety
American
Trucking
Associations President
and CEO Bill Graves
praised the efforts of the
nation’s truck drivers,
safety directors and law
enforcement officers for
their contribution to the

continued progress in
the industry’s safety
record.
“Based on the latest
report from the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
fatal
crashes involving a large
truck have fallen 31 percent from 2007 to 2009
and crashes resulting in
injury have fallen 30
percent,” Graves said
following a review of FMCSA’s 2009 Large Truck
and Bus Crash Facts,
recently posted on FMCSA’s website.
In addition, the report
says the large truck fatal
crash rate fell to 1.0
crashes per 100 million
miles in 2009 from 1.1
crashes per 100 million
miles traveled in 2008.
Since 2000, the fatal

crash rate for large
trucks has fallen 54.5
percent — more than
twice as much as the
passenger vehicle fatal
crash
rate,
which
dropped just 25 percent
— in the same time period.
“These safety gains,”
Graves said, “are the result of many things,
sensible regulation, improvements in technology, slower more fuel efficient driving, the dedication of professional
drivers and safety directors as well as more effective
enforcement
techniques that look at
all the factors involved
in crashes, not just a select few.”
Graves also chided
FMCSA for not doing

more to share this good
news about trucking’s
safety progress.
“These results deserve
to be heralded as
tremendous
progress
and very good news for
American motorists, our
industry and our industry’s regulators,” Graves
said. “However, FMCSA
has chosen not to highlight these important results. By not celebrating
this success, the agency
is doing itself a disservice. These results are as
much an achievement
for FMCSA as they are
for the nation’s trucking
industry. We are at a
loss on why FMCSA
chose not to communicate this final data indicating
great
safety
progress.”

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 13

ARLINGTON, VA — In
advance of the Nov. 30
hearing
before
the
House Oversight and
Government
Reform
Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill
Graves questioned the
aims of groups pressing
the federal government
to dismantle a successful regulation.
“Since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration first revised
the
hours-of-service
rules in 2004, a coalition of advocacy groups
and organized labor,
abetted by their political
allies have tried through
lobbying and litigation
to undo what has
proven to be a successful regulation,” Graves

TRUCK

VERMONT DAIRY HERD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

1909 - 2011
OVER 100 YEARS OF SERVICE

Country
Folks

Official Publication of Vermont DHIA

Page 14 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Tracker Series
Sarah Stebbins
Education and Marketing
Specialist
OK PCDART users,
how much information
are you recording? Have
you thought about possibly recording more information, but thought it
was too hard, or cumbersome to get that information back out to analyze? Well I have the answer for you. Over the
past few years, DRMS in
Raleigh, NC has been developing what is known
as the Tracker Series.
The Tracker Series is
made up of 4 different
analytical tools including, Activity Tracker,
Heifer Tracker, Conception Tracker and Maternity Tracker. Each program is developed to
"track" different information. The objectives of
the tracker series are to
answer specific questions related to dairy
herd performance, enhance and optimize user
flexibility to answer
questions, and to provide a simple and easy
interaction with Excel
and PowerPoint.
Trackers are most informative when you are
trying to answer a specific question. Below, I am
going to go over the different type of information each Tracker evaluates and questions each
one can answer, assuming the necessary information is being recorded.
Activity Tracker
Activity Tracker is designed to count. It simply counts recorded
events relative to the
date and DIM of the cow
when they occurred. It
counts status events
(such as FRESH, BRED,
PREG, etc.), user-defined
health
codes,
chores, and protocols.
By changing the date
ranges and calving cohorts, users can monitor
trends over time. By using Activity Tracker to
assign cows with certain
activities to a Temp
Group, in conjunction
with standard or usercreated PCDART reports,
many more questions
can be answered.
Examples of Questions Activity Tracker
can Answer:
* What is cull rate (by
lactation group for any
time period)?

* What is early lactation
cull rate (by lactation
group for any time period)?
* What is pregnancy
hard count from January 15 to April 15? Are
there sufficient cow
pregnancies? Are there
sufficient heifer pregnancies?
*
Are there enough
cows freshening for my
herd size?
* What percent of fresh
cows had DA's, RP's, and
ketosis from May 22nd
to August 23rd?
* Are cows being vaccinated appropriately?
* When is lameness occurring? Is it seasonal?
Does it occur more in
early lactation?
* Is there a mastitis
problem? Are too many
fresh cows being treated
for mastitis? Is the problem with heifers or cows?
* Do the cows that have
RP's leave the herd any
faster than cows with no
RP's?
* Are mastitis treatments working? What

percentage of these cows
are re-treated? How
many of these cows leave
the herd?
Heifer Tracker
Heifer Tracker is designed to analyze the replacement enterprise. A
specific set of metrics
can be produced for any
group of heifers on the
dairy. The metrics evaluate several key areas of
heifer management: inventories, speed of getting semen into heifers,
speed of getting heifers
pregnant, breeder performance, hard counts of
critical events, and survival. Heifer performance
can be monitored to spot
trends and focus efforts
on areas that need improvement.
Examples of questions Heifer Tracker
can Answer:
* Does the distribution
of heifer inventory suggest a growing population?
* Are heifer inventories
adequate to maintain
calving patterns or re-

placement needs?
* Am I getting semen
into
heifers
quickly
enough following the voluntary waiting period?
* Are heifers too old at
first breeding?
* Are breeders currently doing a good job of getting heifers pregnant so
they will freshen at the
desired age?
* What is the age at
first calving in recent
months?
* How quickly are
heifers getting pregnant
in the cycles following
the voluntary wait period?
* How many heifers are
reproductive failures?
* What percentage of
heifer pregnancies are
from bulls?
* What is the heifer
pregnancy hard count
each month?
* How many sexed semen heifer pregnancies
are there?
* What are heifer conception rates for sexed
versus conventional semen?

Conception Tracker
Conception Tracker is
designed to answer extremely specific questions relative to AI breedings. It does not consider
Bull breedings. Conception Tracker will only
count eligible breedings;
a breeding is deemed ineligible if the outcome is
unknown, or if there
were multiple breedings
in a 17 day window.
Numerous filters related to the breeding date,

service sire, technician,
day of the week, semen
type, etc allow the user
to ask a multitude of
good questions.
Examples of Questions
Conception
Tracker can Answer:
* Are overall conception
rates trending up or
down?
* Are first service conception rates different
for first lactation cows

days of age?
* How much lower is
conception for sexed semen breedings compared to conventional
breedings?
* Is the lag in conception with sexed semen
more or less pronounced
in heifers compared to
cows?
* Does heat stress impact heifer conception as
much as cow conception? Do 1st lactation
cows handle heat stress
better than older cows?
Maternity Tracker
Maternity Tracker will
be able to answer questions about maternity
management, specifically focusing on DOA's
(Dead On Arrival or stillborn calves). Only calves
that are reported born
dead are counted as a
DOA in maternity tracker. Maternity Tracker
can also provide a useful

report for the maternity
team on a large dairy.
Calvings in Maternity
Tracker are categorized
as follows: All Calvings
(every calving regardless
of sex or twinning), Female Calvings (one heifer
calf born), Male Calvings
(one bull calf born), Twin
Calvings (2 or more
calves of any sex), and
Other Calvings (no sex
reported).
Example
Questions
that Maternity Tracker
can Answer:
* What are DOA rates
for lact=1 calvings?
* What are DOA rates
for lact>1 calvings?
* What is the twinning
rate for lact=1 compared
to lact>1 calvings?
* Do cows with ME's
above herd average have
a higher twinning rate?
* Are DOA's lower in
calvings that resulted
from
sexed-semen

breedings?
* Are DOA's different
for purchased versus
home-raised heifers?
* Are DOA's higher in
cows that had twins?
* Are more calves born
dead on weekends?
* Are DOA's higher
when calving ease score
is above 3?
* Do early-dry cows
have higher DOA rates?
* For cows that calve
more than 10 days early

Country
Folks

Official Publication of Vermont DHIA

(before expected due
date), is DOA rate higher?
* What % of sexed semen calvings are female?
* What % of traditional
semen calvings are female?
* Do any sires have a
high proportion of male
calvings?
Information about the
tracker series was found
on the DRMS website,
and there is more infor-

mation available there.
Keep in mind that these
Tracker Series are only
as good as what you
record, so record as
much as you can!
If you have any question on how to record
specific information, or
how to use the tracker
series please feel free to
contact any of us at Vermont DHIA, we are always willing to help!!
Happy Holidays!

Record It…
Manage It…
Improve It…

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 15

compared to older cows?
* Is the conception rate
from 1st service timed-AI
breedings acceptable?
* Is the conception rate
from 1st service "standing heat" breedings acceptable?
* Are weekend breeders
getting as many cows
pregnant as the breeders
during the week?
* Are transition cow issues impacting reproduction? Are conception
rates lagging in early lactation? Are there different trends for lactation=1 compared to lactation>1?
* Did first lactation
cows that calved in January have better 2nd
service conception rates
compared to first lactation cows that calved in
December?
* Are conception rates
lower for heifers that
were bred less than 400

1909 - 2011
OVER 100 YEARS OF SERVICE

More choices, less Choice beef

Page 16 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Trying to please every beef customer takes more of the best
A wider price gap between Select grade boxed
beef and Choice or better
— the Choice/Select
spread — always comes
back to supply and demand. Consumers vote
with their dollars, and
recent shifts in merchandising put much more
high-quality beef on the
ballot, just as those supplies began to fall off.
Asked to comment on
implications, JBS USA
officers noted supplies of
Choice beef had been on
the rise, at prices not
much above Select. That
helped entice marketers
to offer better beef to millions more shoppers by
this fall, and now the
wider price spread signals producers to boost
supply.
“The retail channel in
particular is making
more impact than it has
in the past on the
spread,”
said
Tyler
Brown, JBS premium
program manager. Historically, that’s driven by
foodservice, he adds, but

retailers today want to
offer more quality and
consistency.
“They’re
looking at higher grading
programs to do that.”
As looking gave way to
buying more of the
restaurant-quality beef,
cattlemen took greater
care to optimize marbling. In November and
December, high-quality
middle meats are often
scarce due to holiday
buys, but Al Byers, JBS
senior vice president of
sales, says this fall could
see one of the tightest
supply situations ever,
especially for premium
Choice programs.
“The signal being sent
to us by the market and
the spread is that we
need more,” Byers said.
“Part of that signal reflects the changing nature of the consumer.”
Indeed, as the flagging
economy met higher
overall beef prices, consumers sent their own
signal to the retail and
foodservice sectors. They
wanted more value for

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their dollars. Brown says
JBS customers are responding.
“If they’re going to sell
beef, they’ve got to deliver a consistent product
to their customers,” he
said. “That’s more important now than ever
due to pricing.”
Opportunities for retailers to meet the demand continue to grow,
apace with opportunities
for cattlemen to respond
in kind.
“When you deliver
something they’re looking for with exceptional
value, which is defined
in the price paid for
quality, you’ll usually get
rewarded for it,” Brown
said.
The
Choice/Select
spread is a measure of
that, and the basis of
grid marketing. After

jumping to near -term
highs above $20 per
hundredweight this fall,
the packers say that
spread could stabilize
somewhere
between
there and $12.
“Dollars drive everything in this industry,”
Brown said. “I think the
spread speaks for itself
and the prevalence of
black cattle and Angusinfluenced genetics continuing to increase.”
Byers compares the
evolving meat case to the
variety consumers already expect in the wine
aisle.
“You’ve got a bottle of
$6 wine and then a $60
bottle of wine,” he said.
“You’ve got them all on
the
shelf,
knowing
there’s that spread.”
Similarly, many retailers that used to carry

only Select beef have upgraded part of the meat
case to a higher quality
product, but they maintain variety with more
choices in the case.
“Both retailers and
packers are beginning to
understand that marketing is not an average of
where a particular consumer walks in,” Byers
said. “They have to provide a beef eating solution that meets the
unique social demographics of each consumer who walks in.”
That caters to the universal demand for satisfaction, whether it’s in a
fine dining restaurant or
in the comfort of home.
“If we can deliver on
those attributes every
time, that’s a win for
everyone, from the cowcalf guy all the way to

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the retailer and foodservice operator,” Brown
said.
As supplies of premium Choice beef tighten
up through the holiday
season, Byers says packers will be challenged to
meet demand.
“Certainly, we’re encouraging anybody from
the feedlot to the stocker
and rancher to keep
sending us high-quality
cattle,” he said. “We’ll
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Happy people, happy cattle
by Miranda Reiman
“If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
Surely you’ve heard
that phrase and get
what it means: If the
household caregiver isn’t in a good mood, it
trickles down to the rest
of the family.
At a recent seminar, a
management consultant
applied that same concept to animal caretakers. When they’re not
happy, the herds aren’t
happy. When ranchers
or feedlot employees are
unhappy
or
feeling
stress, how much pride
can they take in the job
they’re doing?

Call it mammalian
empathy or stress-related errors of management, but those bad
feelings are contagious
across species. And a
growing body of research says cattle that
never have a bad day do
better all the way
through to the packinghouse.
From an animal’s perspective, what exactly
does that mean, never
having a bad day?
There are variables
that no caregiver can
completely control, like
weather or sickness.
But that doesn’t mean a
herdsman is helpless;

there is much you can
do. Approaches like
strategic windbreaks or
bedding cattle can make
them more comfortable
in the winter months.
Sprinklers and shade
can ease the sweltering
summer heat.
Vaccinations,
good
nutrition,
minimal
stress — these can all
aid in keeping critters
healthy.
Then there are all
those details where the
caregiver has much
greater control: weaning, feeding, animal
handling and so on
down the list.
Planning ahead and

doing everything possible to ease cattle from
one transition phase to
the next helps. Consistency is another key.
Moving animals in a
calm and collected manner (as much as is humanly possible), avoiding “hot shots” and hollering, and focusing on
the natural tendencies
of the animal can make
even the most stressful
days seem like good
times to those cattle.
You care. Those animals are your lifeblood.

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ions.
Make sure they know
that how well they do
their job matters — not
only for today, but in
the long-run bigger picture. Do they realize
that the way calves are
handled affects performance, both in the
feedlot and on the rail?
Many hurdles to happiness for man and
beast can be overcome
with more communication, more planning.
That may not come naturally to every “get your
hands dirty” type of
manager, but it’ll be
worth it in the end.
Especially if, by keeping those calves happily
gaining and grading,
you make life better for
them, for your family
and for millions of consumers. That’s sure to
put a smile on momma’s
face, along with all
those others.

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December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 17

Hello,
I’m Peggy

You’re entrusted with
their wellbeing and
they’re your profit center. But if you have employees, either family or
outside hired help, do
they feel the same way?
Is that passion coursing
through their veins?
This
management
consultant
suggested
those folks keep their
purpose top of mind.
They’re not just feeding
cows and processing
calves. They’re helping
to feed the world. Ask
them for suggestions
and input — an outside
perspective never hurts
and they might be happier if you show that
you value their opin-

Page 18 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Values kids learn through farm work are at risk
by Lynne Finnerty
Every summer, rural
teenagers get jobs on local farms to earn some
cash while being outdoors. Some just enjoy
helping a relative or
neighbor on his farm or
ranch — because it really is a great experience to
drive a tractor.
Across rural America,
young people help cut
and bale hay on other
people’s land. In the Midwest, many a teen has
worked as a corn detasseler, removing tassels
from one variety of plants
so they can be pollinated
by another and create a
high-yield hybrid. For
others, their first job
might have been picking
fruit in an orchard.
By working on farms,
their own family’s or
someone else’s, young
people learn about agriculture, how to respect
and care for animals and
how to work safely with
farm equipment. They
also learn important values, such as a good work
ethic and taking on responsibility.
But under a Labor Department proposal, such
work could be off-limits
to minors. They would
not be allowed to work
on a farm that isn’t directly owned by their
parents or operate any
power-driven equipment
— even something as
simple as a battery-powered screwdriver.
“Under this proposal,
it sounds like youths
would be allowed to
push open the barn
door, but whether they
can flip the light switch
inside is unclear,” explained American Farm
Bureau labor specialist
Paul Schlegel. “But they
sure couldn’t use a
flashlight or pick up a
weed whacker. And they
couldn’t go up in the
barn loft because it’s
greater than 6 feet above
ground level.”

The real impacts aren’t
fully
understood.
It
could depend literally on
how government regulators write the final rules
and then interpret them.
Most likely, young people
couldn’t even work on
their own family farm if,
like many farms these
days, it’s set up as a corporation or partnership,
not wholly owned by the
kid’s parents.
The Labor Department
says its proposal is needed to protect young peo-

ple from dangerous work.
However, as is often the
case when the feds deal
with an issue, the proposal goes too far. It’s like
trying to kill a gnat with a
sledgehammer.
Farm work can have
its hazards, and no one
wants
kids
working
when and where they
shouldn’t be. But ask
any farmer how she
learned to do farm work,
correctly and safely, and
you’re likely to hear that
she grew up doing it on

either a family farm or
through agricultural education programs, which
also would be at risk if
kids are not allowed to
do many farm tasks. If
we can’t train the next
generation of farmers,
then the implications go
beyond
whether
a
teenager can earn a little
spending money.
Parents, not the federal government, should
decide what’s safe for
their kids. For those jobs
that are particularly haz-

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American Farm Bureau Federation
ardous, the government
has a role to play. But
the government should
at least write rules that
won’t threaten the very
structure of family farms
and rural communities.
The comment period
on the proposal has
closed. Now the government will continue with
the rulemaking process.
As it does, it is hoped
that the rules will make

more sense for how
farms work today, and
for youngsters who want
the experience of working on a farm. It will be
important for farm families and agricultural educators to weigh in to
ensure that outcome.
Lynne Finnerty is the
editor of FBNews, the
American Farm Bureau
Federation’s
official
newspaper.

Cornell offers online marketing class for
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New farmers with 1-3
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and serious aspiring new
farmers who have already explored the basics of marketing and are
ready for a more formal
marketing strategy.
Course Objectives
This course will help
farmers:
• Link your farm’s mission and vision to your
commercial goals and
marketing strategy
• Understand the key
elements of a solid marketing plan
• Understand and use
effective
marketing
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• Understand and use
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troductions and welcome
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Course fee is $175.
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Final webinar to recap year of topics
covered in social media training program
NCGA’s 2011 Social
Media Training Program
will feature a final webinar that will recap material covered throughout
the year and link each
social media tactic to the
larger overall agricultural picture. The program
is generously supported
by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a
DuPont Business.
“Throughout this year,
the social media webinar
series has offered grow-

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ers a variety of tools and
tips that are helpful
when using Facebook,
Google+,
Twitter,
YouTube and Flickr,”
said Grower Services Action Team Chair Brandon Hunnicutt. “If you
have missed any one of
these informative sessions, or simply would
like a refresher course, I
urge you to tune in (Dec.
15) and become a part of
the ongoing conversation

about agriculture.”
This webinar will offer
a review of the main
points from past presentations and provide expanded information on
these topics. The session
will also offer best practices and case studies for
topics including Facebook, Twitter, blogs and
more. Offering a big-picture look at the topics
covered, attendees will
have the chance to ask

questions on any of the
social media webinar
content presented this
year.
The webinar starts at
10:30 a.m. CST Thursday, Dec. 15. Registration prior to the event is
strongly recommended.
Visit www.ncga.com/socialmedia for more information.
Source: NCGA News
of the Day: Tuesday,
Dec. 6

Pricing, marketing
tactics online course
for beginning farmers
offered through Cornell
this winter
The Beginning Farmer
Project at Cornell University is offering an online course series in
marketing strategy for
new and start-up farmers. The online course is
designed to help farmers
better understand how
to price products, position yourself in the growing “buy local” marketplace, online and physical location sales, as well
as guerrilla marketing
tactics.
Webinars
The bulk of the course
happens on students’
own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in a virtual
classroom. There will be
weekly webinars to allow
farmers to learn from
outside presenters, ask
questions, and collaborate with other participants and the instructors. Webinars will be
from 7-8:30 p.m. EST on
Wednesdays Jan. 4-Feb.
8. Webinars will be
recorded.
Target Audience

Page 20 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

National Ag Day Essay Contest
announces Feb. 1 Deadline
The Agriculture Council
of America (ACA) calls on
ninth- to 12th-grade students to submit an original, 450-word essay or a
two-minute video essay
about the importance of
agriculture. This year’s
theme is “American Agriculture: Feeding the Future, Filling the Gaps.”
The deadline is Feb. 1,
2012. The ACA asks
teachers and parents to
encourage student participation.
The theme “American
Agriculture: Feeding the
Future, Filling the Gaps”
presents an opportunity
for students to address
how the agriculture industry continues to feed a
growing population. Entrants may choose to either write an essay
and/or create a video focusing on how today’s
growers are overcoming
challenges to provide a
safe, stable food supply
and sustain the significant role agriculture
plays in everyday life.
“CHS is proud to help
support students through
this year’s Ag Day essay
and video contest,” said
Annette Degnan, marketing communications director, CHS Inc. “We want

to recognize today’s youth
and their ability to help
communicate the importance of agriculture’s role
in our society. We look
forward to seeing the entries that students develop around the theme,
“American Agriculture:
Feeding the Future, Filling the Gaps.”
The national written essay winner receives a
$1,000 prize and roundtrip ticket to Washington,
D.C. for recognition during the Celebration of Ag
Dinner held March 8 at
Whitten Patio at the
USDA. During dinner, the
winner will have the opportunity to read the winning essay as well as join
with industry representatives, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, media and
other friends in a festive
ag celebration. The video
essay winner wins a
$1,000 prize, and the
winning video will play
during the Celebration of
Ag Dinner.
This is the 39th anniversary of National Ag
Day. The goal of the ACA
is to provide a spotlight
on agriculture and the
food and fiber industry.
The ACA not only helps

consumers understand
how food and fiber products are produced, but
also brings people together to celebrate accomplishments in providing
safe, abundant and affordable products.
The Ag Day Essay Contest is sponsored by CHS
Inc., The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, National
Association of Farm Broadcasting, National Agri-Marketing Association, Country Living Association and
McCormick Co.
All
written
entries
should be sent to: 2012
Ag Day Essay Contest,
Agriculture Council of
America, 11020 King
Street, Suite 205, Overland Park, KS 66210, or
submitted by e-mail to essay@agday.org. Students
may upload video essays
at http://agday.leapfile.
net and follow the directions on the page, or students may choose to mail
video entries to the address above on a compact
disc. Visit www.agday.org
or www.hpj.com/agday
essay to read official contest rules and for more
details regarding entry
applications.

Issued Dec 2, 2011
Federal order milk
prices took a temporary
jump. The Agriculture
Department announced
the November benchmark Class III price at
$19.07 per hundredweight, up $1.04 from
October, $3.63 above No-

vember 2010, $1.88
above California’s 4b
cheese milk price, and
equates to about $1.64
per gallon.
It’s the highest November price in four years
and put the 2011 average
at $18.33, up from
$14.46 at this time a year

ago and a disastrous
$11.03 in 2009. But
Class III futures late Friday morning portended a
decline in December, to
$18.61. Looking to First
Quarter 2012; the January contract was trading
at $17.29, February
$17.15, March $17.09,
and April $16.95.
The November Class IV
price is $17.87 per hundredweight, down 54
cents from October but
$4.62 above a year ago.
The
NASS-surveyed
cheese price averaged
$1.8415 per pound, up

9.4 cents from October.
Butter
averaged
$1.7824, down fractionally. Nonfat dry milk averaged $1.4522, down
5.9 cents, and dry whey
averaged 63.8 cents, up
2.3 cents.
California’s 4b cheese
milk price is $17.19, up
$1.41 from October, and
$4.05 above a year ago.
The 2011 4b average
now stands at $16.48,
up from $13.25 a year
ago. The 4a butter-powder price is $17.70,
down 59 cents from October, but $1.36 above a

year ago. The 2011 average is now $19.02, up
from $14.82 in 2010.
Sellers tried to “butter
up” the Chicago Mercantile Exchange the week
following Thanksgiving
as a possible record high
56 carloads came and
went. You might say
“Black Friday” for butter
came on Monday when
the price jumped a nickel
despite 11 carloads trading hands, followed by 14
more on Tuesday, and
kept coming. The first
Friday of December however saw the price close

Mielke 22

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 21

at $1.63 per pound, up 2
cents on the week and 2
cents above a year ago.
The NASS-surveyed price
plunged
12.6,
to
$1.6467. NASS powder
averaged $1.4094, down
4.3 cents, and dry whey
inched 0.1 cent higher, to
64.29 cents per pound.
A more typical spread
between block and barrel
cheese was reestablished. Monday saw a
small rebound in both
but gave it all back with
the blocks closing Friday
at $1.74, down 4 3/4cents on the week but
still 23 1/4-cents above
a year ago. The barrels
rolled 8 3/4-cents lower,
to $1.7125, and 25 1/4
above a year ago. Only
five cars of block traded
hands on the week and
eight of barrel. The NASS
U.S. average block price
jumped 6 1/2-cents, to
$1.8886, and the barrels
averaged $1.9754, up
6.8 cents.
The Monday rally in
the cash dairy prices following
Thanksgiving
Week caught the market
by surprise, according to
Stewart Peterson’s Matt
Mattke in Tuesday’s
DairyLine broadcast. Futures were factoring in
anticipated further declines in cheese, he said,
with some months expecting the low $1.50s.
“Seasonally, this is still
the time of the year where
we should, if buyers are
going to step in, this is
the time of the year where
they should still be looking to do so,” Mattke said,
“As there’s still those end
users looking to procure
supplies for upcoming
holidays.”
But, he wasn’t convinced the rally would
hold and warned that, in
the past, “When October
and November are strong
for cheese prices, which
is pretty rare, it hasn’t
been a good omen for
cheese prices in the
month of December.” He
added that he would not
be surprised if the blockbarrel average fell below
November lows and,
worst case scenario, “We
could see $1.60 cheese
tested.” He said that
$1.59 to $1.77 “looks
like what the downside
range of risk could be.”
Mattke advised producers to “Stay defensive in
nearby months. Look to
the tools you’re most
comfortable with whether
it be futures, puts, or
fences. Keep the protection nearby and in that
First Quarter time frame,”
he concluded, but “Going
beyond that I think it’s a
bit early until we see
some indications that the

Page 22 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

Mielke from 21
long term trend for the
dairy market is turning to
down. Right now we don’t
see that yet.”
FC Stone dairy broker,
Boris Maslovsky, said in
their November 28 eDairy
Insider Opening Bell that
consumer demand may
support dairy prices.
“Black Friday was a
blockbuster,” Maslovsky
said. “Sales were extremely strong, well above
expectations and are driving equities up. Consumer spending for televisions and other goods
may filter into food markets.” However, he cautions that China’s milk
imports are down by as
much as half so international markets may weigh
on U.S. dairy prices.
Dairy economist Bill
Brooks disagrees and
said heavy consumer
spending on television
sets doesn’t translate
into higher food demand.
“I don’t believe there will
be a bump in dairy
prices based on Black
Friday,” he said, but
adds that consumer
spending “could cushion
price declines.”
The CME’s Daily Dairy
Report (DDR) echoed the
China concern reporting
that, in the June to October period, China imported just 150 million
pounds of whole milk
powder, down 45 percent
from a year ago. Purchases are expected to
pick up ahead of the
Chinese Lunar New Year,
which starts January 23,
according to the DDR.
Whole milk powder out
of Oceania is priced at
$1.54-$1.70 per pound,
up about 7 cents since
mid-October, according
to USDA’s Dairy Market
News.
FC Stone dairy economist Bill Brooks warned
in the December 1 eDairy
Morning Executive Edition that the global
macro-economic picture
looks weak, while milk
production is up. He
adds that China’s economy has slowed and Europe is in trouble. Broker
Maslovsky wrote; “The
more support Europe
gets, the less chance of
the dollar soaring and
limiting U.S. exports,”
Meanwhile; the DDR
says
third
quarter
cheese use was slowing,
based on USDA data.
Disappearance of American cheese was off 4.3
percent, the worst quarter in four years, according to Editor Alan Levitt.
He adds that disappearance of other cheese was
up just 1.8 percent.
Combined, total cheese
use was down 0.6 per-

cent from the prior year
in third quarter after
running nearly 5 percent higher in the first
half of 2011.
Butter movement, on
the other hand, remained robust in third
quarter, according to
Levitt. Commercial use
was up 12.2 percent,
“helping to clear very
heavy production volumes.” Disappearance
was up almost 10 percent in the first three
quarters of the year, according to USDA, and
manufacturers were successful in moving powder
in the third quarter:
Nonfat dry milk and
skim milk powder use in
third quarter was up
about 11 percent versus
a year ago, according to
USDA production and
inventory figures. Fluid
milk sales were down
1.3 percent.
USDA’s Dairy Products
report indicates milk is
being channeled to the
churn and the dryer. October butter production
hit 146 million pounds,
up 6.4 percent from September and 19.6 percent
above October 2010.
Nonfat dry milk and
skim milk powder output, at 142.7 million
pounds, was up 8 percent from 2010.
Cheddar cheese output totaled 249.9 million
pounds, virtually unchanged from September
but 5.8 percent below a
year
ago.
American
cheese, at 352 million
pounds, was up 4 percent from September
and 1.2 percent below a
year ago.
In export news; the Cooperatives Working Together program accepted
12 requests for export
assistance this week
from Dairy Farmers of
America, Darigold, and
United Dairymen of Arizona to sell a total of 7.4
million pounds of Cheddar and Monterey Jack
cheese to customers in
Asia, the Middle East,
and Central America.
CWT’s 2011 cheese exports now total 88.3 million pounds.
CWT will have “a very
robust future,” in 2012
according to National
Milk’s Chris Galen in
Thursday’s DairyLine,
now that participation
exceeds 70 percent of the
U.S. milk supply. Created in 2003 to help dairy
farmers, Galen said the
decision was made two
years ago to concentrate
on export assistance.
The 2012 budget will
be $35 million, according
to Galen, with the majority going to American

type cheese, a quarter to
butter and butterfat
products, and $5 million
held in reserve for possible inclusion of milk
powders if necessary.
“CWT has had a big
role the past couple
years in helping augment
our cheese exports,”
Galen said. About two
thirds of all Cheddar and
American type cheese exported this year was facilitated by CWT, he said,
18 percent of all cheese

exported this year has
been the result of the
CWT and, “at 2 cents per
hundredweight, it’s a
very modest investment
that farmers and cooperatives are making in a
program that basically
helps everyone with better prices.”
The majority of Asian
exports go to Japan,
Galen reported, but he
expects exports to Korea
to continue to grow with
the new free trade agree-

ment, plus a significant
portion of product is going to the Middle East,
including Saudi Arabia
and Egypt. “They are important export markets
for the U.S. overall,” he
concluded, “And the
more people participate,
that will give a bigger
budget to facilitate more
exports.”
Milk prices could average around $20 per hundredweight for 2011,
more than $3.50 higher

than last year, according
to Dairy Profit Weekly’s
Dave Natzke in Friday’s
DairyLine. “However, two
government reports this
week, recapping dairy financial factors for October and November, indicate profit margins will
be shrinking in the final
quarter of the year,” he
said.
USDA’s monthly report
on milk production costs

Mielke 23

Still no free lunch?
The disconnect between academic idea and cowherd application
Common sense makes
it clear: simplicity rules.
However, ranching profitability is a model of

more revenue at sale
time, but those assumptions are often too simplistic,” says animal sci-

nomics and business.”
More pounds, more dollars? “It’s just never that
simple,” he says (see
Graphic).
Strategic marketing
Historically,
the
“pounds equal profit”
paradigm gained ground
on its perceived operational efficiency. It took
little effort to introduce a
Continental bull into an
English herd and increase output. However,
the slight effort often led
to a “problem solved” level of thought.
“We started crossbreeding, but it wasn’t
often well-designed or
systematic,” Speer says.
“It was just a haphazard
approach, and that’s no
good. There was this perception that crossbreeding would fix everything,
regardless of the genetics
we put into the system.”
That approach became
hazardous as beef consumers grew more discriminating
in
the
1990s. Commodity beef
wasn’t delivering what
they wanted, so the industry had to start looking for new ways to meet
demand for consistently
high-quality beef.
“Industry economics
began to change toward
reflecting the entire value chain,” Speer explains. “That favored
production systems that
were increasingly responsive to end-user
specifications.”
As
more
research
pointed
to
English
breeds’ superior marbling and tenderness,

cattle with proven potential for carcass performance became more valuable. Speer says these
changes laid the groundwork for a shift in conventional marketing, including more interest in
retained ownership at
the feeding stage and
more emphasis on quality over quantity alone.
Cost, capital
management
Consolidation continued, and larger operations “have a tendency to
move from strictly a
weigh-up focus to more
specified marketing targets,” Speer says. The
ability to fill a semi-trailer leads to more desire
for uniformity, and interest in value-added marketing through retained
ownership.
“In those scenarios,
weight and value are not
mutually exclusive,” he
adds.
The cowherd represents primary income for
only one quarter of beef
operations. Labor efficiency is especially critical to those with 200 or
more cows, accounting
for nearly 40 percent of
the inventory.
“One of their most
time-consuming tasks is
managing the calving females,” Speer points out.
“In an ideal world, they
would be observed regularly, but time constraints often don’t allow
such luxury.”
That adds emphasis to
predictable calving ease.

Still 24

Mielke from 22
showed higher October
feed prices pushed total
production costs to possibly the highest level on
record, even surpassing
totals seen during a previous high-cost period of
2008. Based on USDA
estimates, total costs
covering feed and other
operating costs, as well
as labor and overhead,
will be up at least $2 per
hundredweight
from
2010.
“So while 2011 milk
prices will be up substantially from 2010,
higher costs could eat up
nearly two-thirds of that
additional
income,”
Natzke said.
USDA’s second report
provides another measurement of dairy income.
The monthly milk-feed
price ratio, an index
comparing the relationship between the average
milk price and feed

costs, shrunk in November. While November
milk prices held steady
at $19.90 per hundredweight,
higher
corn
prices offset small declines in prices for soybeans and alfalfa hay,
tightening the milk-feed
price ratio to the lowest
level since May.
“For dairy producers
who buy feed, hay prices
remain especially troublesome, more than $80
per ton higher than a
year ago,” Natzke said.
“Most market analysts
suggest milk prices move
in a three-year cycle, and
the last low point was
2009. And while 2011-12
milk prices should average well above the devastating lows of 2009, when
combined with anticipated feed prices, the corresponding milk-feed price
ratio could rival that seen
in 2009,” he concluded.

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 23

entist Nevil Speer.
The Western Kentucky
University professor recently authored a research
paper
titled
“Crossbreeding: a free
lunch, but at what cost?”
Speer’s analysis points
to incremental changes
in marketing, capital and
cost management, and
increasingly accurate genetic tools to help explain why long-established research that supports crossbreeding has
failed to make a case for
profitability.
Why have so many left
the beef industry’s last
“free lunch” on the
table? No doubt, properly planned, well-executed crossbreeding can
add maternal benefits
and
more
weaning
weight in most environments, but Speer says
the qualifiers mean it’s
no open-and-shut case.
“If we avoid this topic
in animal science, it’s
because we don’t have
enough training in eco-

Spider plot offers a useful visual tool for
agricultural management and education
Killing a weed isn’t as
simple as spraying herbicide on it when you
consider the unintended
consequences in agricultural systems. While the
herbicide may kill the
weed as intended, it also
may
contaminate
ground and surface waters or kill field edge vegetation that is beneficial
in creating a barrier
against invading plants.
Considering
multiple
variables and effects of
agricultural practices
leads to better management decisions.
The current issue of
the journal Weed Technology introduces the

spider plot — a graphical
approach for evaluating
multiple variables and
tradeoffs in agriculture.
The authors of the article
also discuss applying
this tool in the case
study exercise of an educational workshop.
Unintended effects of
an agricultural method
— weed control, tillage,
rotation of crops, or
planting of cover crops,
for example — can be
difficult to measure.
These effects might manifest at a later time or at
another site. Multiple
variables make a decision less straightforward
than it might seem.

If the variables are
considered beforehand,
better decisions can be
made or tradeoffs can be
found that minimize potential impacts. Tools
that facilitate the conceptualization, evaluation, and visualization of
multiple variables can
assist in learning. One
such visual representation is the spider plot.
A spider plot contains
three or more axes, each
representing a variable
and sharing a common

origin. Data are plotted
on the axes, and data
points are connected
with a line. The size and
symmetry of the resulting spider web indicates
the relative magnitude of
each variable and the
overall performance of
the system.
The spider plot was introduced at an educational field-day workshop attended by farmers, agriculture professionals, and students.
The activity was de-

signed to illustrate the
multifunctionality of cover crops planted to suppress weeds or improve
soil quality, showing
participants that further
variables, such as the
type of cover crop, might
play a role. The authors
suggest the spider plot
as a useful tool for weed
science education and
extension programs.
Full text of the article,
“Assessing and Visualizing Agricultural Management Practices: A Multi-

Still from 23
Higher birth weights
may be linked to higher
weaning weights, but expected progeny differences (EPDs) can defeat
those antagonisms. In
any case, the risk of losing a calf-or even a cowat birth verses more
weaning weight leans toward the live calf when
time and labor are
scarce.
Other
convenience
traits also come into
consideration: “I don’t
care if you get an extra
50 pounds at weaning,”
Speer says. “I think most
would agree that nursing
one cow through a difficult birth in a snow
storm when you have
200 more to think about
is just not worth it.”
Genetic progress pays
As the use of EPDs has
flourished over the past
30 years, the desire for
data builds. Angus registrations
outnumber
those for all other
breeds, even the next
seven breeds combined.
To that point, Speer
says it’s not about the
breed, it’s about the precise decisions that come
with it:
“As long as our industry is hitting the end target and doing that more

efficiently, more productively, and it’s profitable,
who cares if the animals
are black or white or
pink or purple? It just
happens to be that Angus has the genetic base
to meet consumer demands and the tools to
help people drive that
forward.”
The Angus database
shows progress in performance traits across
the board, narrowing the
gap that used to produce
the prized hybrid vigor.
In general, breed differences have diminished.
“The Angus breed
caught up with Continentals in terms of
growth and performance, so you just couldn’t get the boost you
were used to getting in
crossbreeding-plus the
premiums,” he notes.
“As the business environment has shifted, the
sole pursuit of heterosis
is no more tenable than
single-trait selection for
any genetic trait.”
That means holding on
to theoretical advantages
without discipline can
eat your lunch in terms
of lost profit. To read
Speer’s full research paper, visit www.CABpartners.com

Weed Science Society of
America says flooding along
our nation’s rivers worsened
by invasive weeds
(Polygonum cuspidatum),
giant knotweed (P. sachalinense),
Himalayan
knotweed
(P.
polystachyum) and a Japanese and giant knotweed
hybrid
(P.
X
Bohemicum). Knotweeds
have been spotted in 41
states and are becoming
a real threat to riparian
areas, particularly in the
Pacific Northwest.
Knotweed roots are far
less dense than those of
native plants and are unable to hold soil firmly in
place. When knotweed
invades a riparian zone,
stream banks become
unstable and soil is
stripped
away.
This
scouring effect can actually shift a stream channel, create a sloping
bank and result in significantly more sediment in
the water. It also reduces
the ability of both the riparian zone and the
stream to hold water —
promoting flash floods
during periods of heavy
runoff.
Why is knotweed so
successful at taking
over? Like many riparian
invaders, it can spread
vegetatively, as well as by
seed. Each plant produces an extensive network of underground rhizomes that can spread
up to 65 feet in all directions. Tens of thousands
of dormant buds on
these
underground
stems can sprout new
bamboo-like shoots that
have been known to
break through asphalt.
“I’ve even seen a picture
showing
Japanese
knotweed that had grown
through someone’s living
room floor,” says Timothy
Prather, associate professor of weed science at the
University of Idaho and a
specialist
in
knotweed.
Even a small fragment
of a root or stem can
launch a new invasive
weed colony. You need to
proceed with care and
use every tool in your
weed control arsenal to
control knotweed. Here
are a few control tips and
best management practices compiled by The Nature Conservancy. Some
of these same techniques
can be applied to other
aggressive
plant
invaders:
• Manual/mechanical

control methods such as
mowing, trimming, digging and pulling may
work if you are persistent
over a period of years.
Your objective is to starve
the root system, and that
means staying ahead of
new shoots that are produced from latent buds
as you disrupt the plant.
Be prepared to cut down
or pull new shoots twice
a month or more from
April to August — and
then at least once a
month until first frost.
Repeat the process annually until the knotweed
no longer regrows. Also,
keep stems that you pull,
cut or mow out of the
compost pile and well
away from any nearby
body of water. You don’t
want the plant to spread
to a new location.
• Foliar herbicide applications may be appropriate for large infestations. Use only an herbicide approved for riparian use and take precautions to minimize drift.
As with mechanical control measures, timing
and persistence are important. Multiple applications may be needed to
do the job.
• New stem-injected
herbicide techniques are
showing great promise. A
special tool is used to inject concentrated chemicals directly into a hollow
in the knotwood stem.
It’s a labor intensive
process, though, making
it best suited for small
patches that are easily
accessible.
“Reclaiming riparian
areas and restoring native species can be vital
to flood control, water
quality and even wildlife
habitat,” Prather said. “It
is important that we focus on early identification of invasive weeds,
understand their growth
patterns and how they
spread, and establish an
effective
management
plan before it’s too late.”

www.countryfolks.com

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 25

This year, flooding has
ravaged thousands of
homes and businesses in
communities across the
U.S. and scientists say
the prevalence of invasive
weeds is one of the factors that may be contributing to the damage.
These foreign invaders
are overrunning many vital “riparian” lands — the
ecologically diverse natural habitats that run
along the millions of
miles of our nation’s waterways and help to prevent or moderate flooding.
“Healthy riparian areas
populated
by
native
plants can store thousands of gallons of water
per acre,” says Linda Nelson, plant physiologist
with the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers and former
president of the Aquatic
Plant Management Society. “They filter the water
that flows into a stream
after a storm or snow
melt and can also mitigate the effects of river
flooding. But, unfortunately, the protection capacity of many of our vital riparian areas is being
degraded by invasive
weeds.”
The
native
plant
species typical of a
healthy riparian corridor
prosper there and have
dense root systems to
hold soil in place and
protect against erosion.
As a result, the soil is
highly permeable and
can absorb water entering the river and overflowing
the
banks.
Healthy riparian land
can even improve water
quality as dense, native
vegetation absorbs potential contaminants and
traps sediment.
But weeds that overrun
native riparian vegetation
can change everything
and seriously degrade
our nation’s valuable water resources. Common
invaders include reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea),
saltcedar
(Tamarix aphylla) and
leafy spurge (Euphorbia
esula).
Another good example
is knotweed, an aggressive species from Asia introduced here as an ornamental. The most common varieties of this
troublemaker
include
Japanese
knotweed

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SCIP to the premiums
in the South, where
many herds were selected for adaptability with
little emphasis on carcass traits.
Brink had bought
many calves and feeders
from those states, and
he knew a huge share of
them hit a genetic roadblock to marbling. Gardiner had sold many
bulls into those states
and saw what a difference genetic improvement was making for his
customers. Both men
saw the USDA Choice
percentage climb in
Kansas packing plants
while
Texas
plants
lagged.
“This is a major problem, yet there is no
broad-scale effort to improve quality grades in
Southern-origin cattle,”
Brink noted at the Gardiner sale. “In fact, the
industry problem is
rarely even discussed,
although its annual cost
is more than $200 million, not counting the
lost beef demand due to
lack of sufficient highquality beef.”
Three years earlier he
and Gardiner wondered,
what if a demonstration
project could be set up
in with a major university to show the added

value in breeding to an
Angus alternative? They
talked to Virginia Tech
animal scientists Dave
Notter and Bill Beal, geneticist and breeding
systems experts, respectively. Gardiner would
fund the research if a
scientifically valid structure could be set up.
As Beal recalled, “Tom
proposed that we identify a group of cows typical of Southern herds
and breed them either
to typical Southern
bulls or high-growth,
high-carcass
Angus
bulls. The question was
how to do it.”
He liked the idea of
“demonstration” as opposed to clinical study.
“We could all sit back
and go to the Journal of
Animal Science, where
there are published
studies that used bulls
with different marbling
levels, and they show
that what you see is, in
fact, what you get in
carcass merit. Okay,”
Beal said, “but those
were controlled studies
that some meat scientist
did at a university.”
Such
results
still
seemed theoretical to
real-world ranchers.
A demonstration project may not impress an-

imal scientists, but it
had to pass their scrutiny. The target had to be
commercial
ranchers
who had adapted their
herds to challenging
Southern environments,
but
who
doubted
whether Angus genetics
could make a difference
in their progeny.
After ruling out multiple herds and locations
for adding too many
wild cards to the project
design, Beal and Notter
saw the Gardiner embryo transfer (ET) program as part of the solution: All that was needed
were
Southern
donors.
Simplicity may have
allowed some elbow
room, but skeptics are
universal. “We couldn’t
have either ranchers or
animal scientists look at
the study and say, ‘well
obviously it worked because they picked those
donors or those bulls.’
We really went to great
lengths to be representative and then utilized
random mating of bulls
to
the
Southern
donors,” Beal explained.
Igentity® DNA profiling helped minimize
concerns about selection of specific individuals, too, he added. “We

characterized those cattle, cows, bulls and
calves, so you could see
which ones had marbling potential.”
Consulting with Notter, 22 representative
cows were purchased
and relocated to the
Gardiner Ranch for the
ET program; 12 of them
produced calves from
random mating to sires
from eight bos indicus
breeds or three Angus
bulls. They were born in
spring 2010, raised as
contemporaries, weaned
and
fed
together
through harvest.
Carcass data on 57 of
those Angus — or
“Southern” — sired
calves shows big differences, although leanness was similar as
measured
by
yield
grades. Two-thirds of
the Angus-sired group
graded Choice, but none
of the non-Angus graded
above Select.
On average, the Angus-sired group finished
with higher marbling
scores, larger ribeye areas, more backfat and
heavier carcass weights
compared to the Southern-sired group. The
value of those differences added up to $134
gross and a net $92-

per-head economic advantage after accounting for feed costs.
The Angus sire effects
for the first-year calves
included a 103-point
marbling
advantagemore than a full USDA
quality grade-along with
nearly another inch of
ribeye area and 61 more
pounds of carcass.
Larry Corah, Certified
Angus Beef LLC (CAB)
vice president for supply, said demand for
high-quality beef is running high, even as the
supply tightens and
quality premiums increase. CAB partners
sold more than 807 million pounds in 2011,
setting a fifth consecutive annual sales record,
despite a stagnant to recession-affected economy.
“This project and its
results speak volumes
about the opportunity
just waiting for ranchers
in an area not known for
high quality to cash in
on the millions of dollars in annual premiums paid for quality
beef,” Corah said.
And the project continues with 56 SCIP
calves born in 2011
backgrounded at Gardiner Angus Ranch.

by Jen Gillespie and
Steve Suther
First results from ongoing research show an
average carcass-value
advantage of $134 per
head for Angus-sired
calves
compared
to
those with bos indicus
or Brahman influence.
The Southern Carcass
Improvement
Project
(SCIP) was initiated in
2009 as a collaboration
between Kansas State
University,
Virginia
Tech and Gardiner Angus Ranch. Its goal was
to measure the impact
that a single generation
of high-quality Angus
genetics can have on
feedlot and carcass performance when mated
to
Brahman-crossed
cattle commonly found
in the Southern U.S.
“It had to show the effect in one generation to
have much impact and
gain many believers,”
said Mark Gardiner, the
Ashland, KS, Angus
breeder who shared
SCIP progress at his
family’s bull sale in September.
The idea came up
while talking with longtime friend Tom Brink,
senior vice president of
Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, about beef quality

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Home,, Family,, Friendss & You
Christmas through the ages
choir to guitar music. Later that night, the people in
the little Austrian church sang “Stille Nacht” for the
first time.
• In 1834, Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince
Albert, brought the first Christmas tree to Windsor
Castle for the Royal family.
• In 1836, Alabama became the first state to
declare Christmas a legal holiday.
• The first commercial Christmas card, produced
in 1846, featured a drawing of family members happily toasting each other with glasses of wine — a
shockingly decadent portrait that was immediately
condemned by temperance advocates.
• In 1856, President Franklin Pierce decorates the
first White House Christmas tree.
• In 1907, Oklahoma became the last state to
declare Christmas a legal holiday.
• In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria.
• In 1945, a phonograph album containing Bing

Crosby’s signature song, “White Christmas,” is
released. The recording would go on to become the
best-selling single ever, with sales of more than 50
million copies worldwide.
(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl;
then combine wet and dry. Once whites are done, fold
whites into chocolate mixture, mixing until the stiff
batter is smooth. Pour batter into pan(s) and place on
lowest rack and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Tube pan
will take longer. Remove cake(s) from oven, but do not
invert pan(s). Cake will be heavier than an angel food
or chiffon, but lighter than a German chocolate.
Filling:
2 cups Heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon Mint extract
1/4 cup sugar
Green food coloring (opt.)
Cool cake completely. Whip cream; gradually add
sugar while mixing then add mint flavor to taste and
just a tiny bit of color, if desired. Slice tube cake into
3 layers. Spread between layers, then ice with
Whipped Chocolate Ganache.
Whipped Chocolate Ganache:
2 cups Heavy whipping cream
16-18 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
or chips
Heat cream in heavy saucepan just until it starts to
boil. Remove from heat; add chocolate all at once and
stir until chocolate is melted. Cool in refrigerator
(several hours - consistency should be like thick
pudding). Whip until soft peaks form (over whipping may cause mixture to become lumpy). Frost
the sides and top of cake. Using a hot spatula,
warmed in hot water and dried well, offers smooth
spreading.
Garnish: Melt 1/4 cup white and 1/4 cup dark
chocolate chips and drizzle each on top and sides
of frosted cake.
Source: Virginia Egg Council

Last week’s Sudoku Solution

December 12, 2011 • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • Section A - Page 33

• Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome,
declared in the 2nd century AD that public Church
services should be held to celebrate “The Nativity of
our Lord and Savior.”
• In 320 AD, Pope Julius I and other religious
leaders specified Dec. 25 as the official date of the
birth of Jesus Christ.
• In the 13th century, St. Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas carols to formal church services.
• In 1531, in Germany, the first printed reference
to Christmas trees appeared.
• The Christmas tree was first decorated with
lights in the 16th century. It is believed that Martin
Luther, the Protestant reformer, was so taken with
the Christmas night sky that he added lighted candles to the tree to bring “the lights of the stars” into
the home of his family.
• A goose was customary Christmas fare until the
early 1600s, when King Henry VIII of England took
it upon himself to tuck into a turkey.
• In 1643, the British Parliament officially abolished the celebration of Christmas.
• The first American Christmas carol was written
in 1649 by a minister named John de Brebeur. It is
called “Jesus Is Born.”
• Between 1649 and 1660, Oliver Cromwell
banned Christmas carols in England. Cromwell
thought Christmas should be a very solemn day, so
the only celebration allowed was a sermon and
prayer service.
• A wreath with holly, red berries and other decorations began from at least the 17th century. Holly,
with its sharply pointed leaves, symbolized the
thorns in Christ’s crown-of-thorns. Red berries symbolized the drops of Christ’s blood. A wreath at
Christmas signified a home that celebrated to birth
of Christ.
• In 1818, “Silent Night” was written by Austrian
priest Joseph Mohr. Legend has it that his church’s
organ broke on the day before Christmas. Mohr
could not imagine Christmas without music, so he
sat down to write a carol that could be sung by a

Page 34 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS New England • December 12, 2011

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